Can opener with resilient can bead gripping member



March 31, 1953 c. D. TuccoR| CAN OPENER WITH RESILIENT CAN BEAD GRIPPINGMEMBER Filed Dec. 20, 1951 R Y R I mwM w W WT 0 Q S E L WNW HY. 15 7Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNI-TED STATES- Pi CAN'- GPENER WITHRESII'JIEN'BEAD.

GRIP-PING This invention relates to a can" opener. lvlore specificallythe invention relates to an imD merit in a can opener of "the 1type-shown in appllcantsPatent" 255L183, patented May l,' 1951.

'In"the-' abovepatented disclosure an improved can opener'i'neludesa1min; blade havinga" pairof laterally spaced grippingelements-Which-grip the bead. ofa can in" secure relationso thatatraction wheel can efiectivelysecure traction in moving the knife"bladein cutting relation with respect to thecan. The grippingelements inthis disclosure areiormed on a gripping member which is mow able withthe blade into engagementwith the can. Since the blade and grippingelements are integral; it hasbeen found that on occasion'the. open atormay-' lock the 'elements into a too rigid "or tightengagement with thecan thus causing-some d-iificulty in turning-the traction wheel. 'Itis-a prime object therefore'to provide an improve'dxca'nopener-'having-a blade with laterally spaced gripping elements forfirmly though resilientlygripping the eanbead of a can. v*Another'object i's'to provide acan opener having a blade includingapair of laterally spaced gripping elements which are relatively movablewith respect to the blade for resiliently "though firmly engagingtthebead of a-canfin amanner designed to prevent rocking of the" bladeduring the can opening operation.

A stillfurtherobject is" to provide a can'opener having 'anhimprovedblaxle including a clamping member which is relatively movableWith-respect to the-blade," the "gripping member includinglaterallytspaced bead-'"gr-ippihg-'-elementszwhich areresilientlymovahle'into'gripping engagement with acanzbeadl v A'stillfurther object is toprovide -a can' opener having a knife body includinga narrow bladeprojecting from'the'body; and agripping or clamping memberstraddling thenarrow blade and" having a'pair of laterally spacedgripping shoulders'or elements on each side of the-narrow blade, theopener including sprlngs engagin'gthe gripping elements" forurgin'g" thesame in the -di-rectionof movement of the blade during its movementtoward engagement with a-ean; the grippdng: e1emerits leeing-relativelyimovable :with"'-=respect*-to said blade for resiliently gripping acanbead.

Theseand "further objects will become more readily apparent from areadingxofthe specificationi sconnection with the accompanying shee ofdrawing:

iilnthedraswing': c n

fFigure'1isafront lew'in"elevation of a can opener;

.Figure :2: is --'a side "elevational -view----of'=-=a can op ner;

.jFigures is-a-rear-view in elevation of-a can; opener;

Figure 14"iS a sectional-view of-a can opener with a "guide memberremoved-,the vie being taken generally along line l d of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken generally al'ong'the line 5-5ofFig-ure'4;

Figure 6 is' a; cross sectional viewthrough a can opener showing the'openeriir clamping and cutting engagement with a-can; V

Figure '7 is a fragmentary vijew'of a ltti-ng blade andclamping- 0rgripping member" in 811'. gagement with. a-canybead; I p

Figure "8' is a detail-front View of a gripping member; and

,-Figure 9 is-a' detail plan view eta-gripping member; 7

Acan opener is generally designatedby the referenee character 10'."Theopene H! includes an upper body portion H was lower body-portion l2.Thelowerfbodyportion l 2 supports a'traction- Wheel l3,'havin g*a shaftI l-which isjourna lled'in"'a;-bore l5. -A wing type-turning member" lS'is'"ri'gidly connected to the shaft- M. The lower body portion I2 isprovided at its lowenend with a; laterally projectingsupporting lip 11.

A blade'structure la' includes-a knife body 19 having" a "narrow cuttingblade- 20' forming with the body l 9- a-pair bilaterally spacedshoulders 2!. l'lhe: cutting-bl efll isprovided at its lower dge with'acntt-ingedgeflz. 1 If-he blade 2c includesarecess or undercut portion23; as shown in Figure 7, providing ashoulder 24. .A grippin or.clampingmember 25' bridges or straddles. the cuttingbladefit, thegripplngimemben 25v including' laterally spaced ripping-elements26-monnectedby a bridge member 2'! whicnslides in the recess 23andengages the shoulder 24 and limits the downward movementof,thecuttingblade '20 relative to the grippingmember 25. V

iThe gripping member includes 1 a "projecting stud 29 which acts as astop. and which-Slidesine slot se-m; thecutting blade'ill. "The bridge21 is recessed in an" arcua-te'mahner as indicated at; 3 l

ing-ahandle- 36*connected-thereto is iournallecl a 3 in a bore 31 of theguide 33, the pin 35 having an eccentric cam 38 rigidly connectedthereto. The pin 35 also is journalled in a bore 38 of the upper plateportion 1 l. The cam is operative to ride in a recess 39 of the knifebody [9, the surfaces of the recess in effect being similar to a camfollower.

The guide 33 is formed with projections 40 which extend through openings4| in the upper plate portion II. The ends of these projections 4|] areriveted over to securely hold the guide 33 in assembled relation withrespect to the upper plate portion I I.

In operation the opener I is placed in engage ment with the can asindicated in Figure 6 and the blade structure [8 is in a retractedposition. By rotating the handle 36 the eccentric cam 38 is rotated inthe recess 39 and the blade structure [8 is moved downwardly whereuponthe cutting blade 20 pierces the upper lid of the can. Simultaneouslythe clamping member 25 is moved into engagement with the bead of the canand the gripping elements 26 firmly engage thev bead. Continued rotationof the handle 36 compresses the springs 32 and move the cutting blade 26downwardly until the shoulder 24 is spaced slightly from the top of thegripping member 25, whereupon the cutting blade 20 is in proper cuttingposition.

By virtue of the relative sliding movement of the cutting blade 28 withrespect to the clamping member 25 the cutting blade 20 can still bemoved after the clamping member has'moved into engagement with the canbead. As the cutting blade 20 is thus moved further downwardly, thesprings 32 are compressed further thus very firmly holding the grippingelements 26 in clamping engagement with the can bead. By virtue of theresiliency of the springs. however movement of the cutting blade 29 toits extreme downward position will not cause binding of the grippingmember 25 since the gripping member 25 is held resiliently in engagementwith the can bead. In View of the resilient self-adjustability of thegripping member, the can opener is readily adaptable to different heightcan beads without any adjustment on part of the operator or change inoperation.

As best shown in Figures 3 and 9 the bridge member 21 is recessed asindicated at 3|, and thus the gripping elements 26 form transverselyspaced points of support for supporting the gripping member 25 on thecan bead. These spaced points of support are effective to preventrocking of the opener ll! during the can opening operation.

The stud 29, as indicated in Figure 4 serves as a stop by engaging thelower end of the slot 3|], when the blade 20 is retracted, for limitingthe downward movement of the gripping member 25 as urged by the springs32.

It can now be seen that an improved can opener has been disclosed anddescribed, the

opener including a cutting blade having a grip-' ping member which isurged resiliently into clamping engagement with a can bead by springs,the clamping member being relatively movable with respect to the cuttingblade.

It must be understood that changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as disclosed, nor the scopethereof as defined in the appended claims.

'What I claim is: 3 V 1. A can opener comprising an elongated framehaving an upper plate portion and a lower plate portion, a toothedtraction wheel journalled on 4 the lower plate portion, turning meansconnected to said toothed traction wheel, a knife guide connected to theupper plate portion, said guide including laterally spaced guideelements, a knife body reciprocally positioned between the guideelements on the upper plate portion, said knife body including arelatively narrow cutting blade projecting from the body and formingtherewith a pair of shoulders disposed on laterally opposite sides ofsaid body, a clamping member disposed between said guide elements, saidclamping member including a pair of gripping elements disposed onopposite sides of the cutting blade, the gripping member beingrelatively movable with respect to said cutting blade, resilient membersengaging the shoulders of the knife body and said gripping members forurging said gripping members into resilient engagement with a can bead,and means for moving said knife body,

said means including a cam connected to the upper plate and movablyengaging said knife body.

2. A can opener comprising an elongated frame having an upper plateportion and a lower plate portion, a toothed traction wheel journalledon the lower plate portion, turning means connected to said toothed.traction wheel, a knife guide connected to the upper plate portion, saidguide including laterally spaced guide elements, a knife bodyreciprocally positioned between the guide elements on the upper plateportion, said knife body including a relatively narrow cutting bladeprojecting from the body and forming therewith a pair of shouldersdisposed on laterally opposite sides of said body, a clamping memberdisposed between said guide elements, said clamping member including apair of gripping elements disposed on opposite sides of the cuttingblade, the gripping member being relatively movable with respect to saidcutting blade, resilient members engaging the shoulders of the knifebody and said gripping members for urging said gripping members intoresilient engagement with a can bead, and means on said upper plateportion for reciprocating said knife body and said gripping members.

3. A can opener in accordance with claim 2, said cutting blade includinga longitudinally extending recess in which said clamping member isdisposed for relative longitudinal sliding movement during clampingengagement of the gripping elements with a can bead.

4. A can opener in accordance withclaim 2, said clamping memberincluding av connecting bridge member connecting said gripping elementswhereby said connecting bridge member ]and said gripping elementsstraddlesaid cutting ade;

5. A can opener in accordance with claim 4, said connecting bridgemember having its lower edge recessed to space the same from a can headduring clamping engagement of the gripping elements with a can bead.

6. A can opener comprising an elongated-frame having an upper plateportion and a lowerplate portion, a toothed traction wheel journalled onthe lower plate portion, turning means connected to said toothedtraction wheel, laterally spaced guide elements on said'upper plateportion, a knife body reciprocally positioned between said guideportions, a knife blade on said body, a pair of gripping elementspositioned on laterally opposite sides of said knife blade, saidgripping elements being movable with said knife blade into grippingengagement with a can bead, and

being relatively movable with respect to said knife blade, resilientmeans engaging said gripping elements for urging said gripping elementsinto clamping engagement with a can bead, and means for moving saidknife blade and said gripping elements longitudinally relative to saidupper plate portion.

'7. A can opener in accordance with claim 6' including stop meansbetween the knife blade and said gripping elements for limiting therelative movement of the gripping elements with respect to said knifeblade.

8. For a can opener havinga frame and means on the frame for moving aknife blade into cutting and gripping engagement with a can; a knifemember comprising a body, a relatively narrower knife blade projectingfrom said body and forming therewith a pair of oppositely disposedshoulders, said knife blade including a cutting edge at its lower end, aclamping member associated with said knife blade and beinglongitudinally movable with respect thereto, said clamping memberincluding a pair of gripping elements disposed on opposite sides of saidcutting blade, and springs engaging said shoulders REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 1,833,743 Girard Nov. 24, 19311,847,780 Oches Mar. 1', 1932 1,903,984 Demers Apr. 18, 1933 2,029,812Dazey Feb. 4, 1936 2,551,183 Tuccori May 1, 1951

